Simply Ice Cream with Chocolate Fondants – Recipe

January 24, 2017

I am the proud owner of a very, very well stocked freezer. That’s probably not the coolest (pun totally intended to add to said coolness) or most glamorous thing to admit but such is real life. And in my life, a well stocked freezer is one key to eternal home happiness. Ridicule me all you like but you know who will be having the last laugh? Me, with my belly-warming bowl of homemade dumplings and broth, ready in just ten minutes. Me, diving into my oxtail stash for a Sunday stew, saving myself the trolley battles in the Sunday supermarket swarms. Or me, wading through my ice cream options for dessert just because I can.

Every freezer should have at least one type of ice cream, but in a well stocked freezer like mine, one is never enough. Oh no, that would be a disgrace! Our current situation involves two staples – a tub of top notch vanilla (because it goes with everything, duh) and a selection of mini Magnums (because I can be sensible in my indulgence), and a new entry… a delectable array of ice creams and sorbets from Simply Ice Cream! When I say there’s something sweet for everyone in that bottom freezer drawer, I really mean it.

Simply Ice Cream is an independent, award-winning ice cream producer based in Kent with a pretty simple yet effective ethos – all their products are made with fresh local ingredients without colours, additives or preservatives – win! Their impressive range of ice cream and sorbet flavours include classics such as strawberry and chocolate to more inventive ones like Christmas pudding and coffee and Kentish cobnut fudge! With well over twenty flavours, I had a hard time narrowing down the ones I wanted to try but settled on honeycomb, chocolate, toffee waffle hazelnut, mango lime and passionfruit, blackcurrant sorbet, and raspberry sorbet.

In the spirit of good freezer management (I’m sure Mary Berry will back me up on this in her freezer etiquette cookbook circa 1970s) we have been clearing it out of the little tubs Simply Ice Cream sent over to me… definitely one of the more enjoyable household chores but how did they taste? The ice creams are incredibly creamy, the sorbets are sharp and vibrant, so in a nutshell, they’re rather good. Our favourites have been the toffee waffle hazelnut, honeycomb (reminded me of my beloved Tip Top Hokey Pokey – my fellow Kiwis will know…), and the raspberry sorbet!

We’ve mostly been eating them on their own whilst plopped in front of the telly after a long day at the office, but we have enjoyed a couple of with other desserts like a sticky date pudding, and my decadent chocolate fondant. We found that the raspberry sorbet perfectly offset the richness of the fondant, making it the perfect pairing. Masterchef has given chocolate fondants a bad reputation but with a bit of practice and a sharp eye on the clock, anyone can master this showstopper of a dessert which is ideal for date nights and dinner parties!

Chocolate Fondants (adapted from The Woodspeen Cooking School)

Serves 4

125g dark chocolate

125g butter

60g caster sugar

2 eggs

40g plain flour

Preheat your oven to 180°c.

Lightly grease with butter four small pudding tins or ramekins then dust with cocoa powder. This will help stop the fondants from sticking.

Place the dark chocolate, butter, and sugar in a mixing bowl and place the bowl over over a saucepan of simmering water. Mix until the butter has melted and everything is combined.

Remove the mixing bowl from the saucepan and leave to cool for 4-5 minutes.

Add the eggs and whisk until the mixture is combined and glossy.

Add the plain flour and mix until combined.

Divide the mixture into the pudding tins or ramekins. At this point you can pop them into the fridge to be baked later in the day, but make sure you take them out of the fridge and bring them back to room temperature before baking – this works really well for dinner parties.

Bake for 12 minutes, then leave to rest for 4 minutes before carefully removing from the pudding tins or ramekins. Depending on your oven, you may need to bake for a minute more or less – just make sure it’s cooked properly across the top and not wobbly otherwise it will break when you turn it over.

From now on, I’ll be serving my chocolate fondants with raspberry sorbet, but they are also fantastic with fresh berries and mascarpone!

Is your freezer as well stocked as mine?

Thanks to Simply Ice Cream for topping up the very important ice cream supplies, but as always, all opinions are mine and mine alone!